Winding and rewinding device for automatic musical instruments.



F. W. HEMPBLMANN. WINDING AND REWINDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12, 1913. 1,091,658. Patented Man-31,1914.

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F W. HEMPELMANN. WINDING AND BEWINDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12, 1913.

1,091,658. Patented Mar.31,1914.

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FREDERICK W. HEMPELMANN, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

WINDING AND BEWINDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Original application filed May 22, 1912, Serial No. 698,875.

Serial No. 747,893.

T aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK WV. HEM- PELMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVinding and Rewinding Devices for Automatic Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic musical instruments, and has for its object the regular and automatic winding and rewinding ofthe selector of the instrument.

The invention consists in the parts and in the details of construction and arrangement of parts, as will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail of the cross-slide. Fig. A is a section on the line 40-00 of Figs. 1 and 2, looking to the left. Fig. 5 is a section on the line y-y of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figs. 1 and 2, looking to the left. Fig. 7 is a detail plan view of one of the slidable cams with its mounting, being represented as having its cover plate removed. Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive are on a scale somewhat enlarged from that of Figs. 1, 2 and 3; and Fig. 5 is especially enlarged, this view showing the more peculiar details of my invention.

Showing of the connections to the mechanism of a musical instrument proper is omitted for sake of clearness. It will be understood that such minor details may vary, according to the kind of instrument the mechanism is applied to.

In the device here exemplifyin my in vention, the perforated sheet 1 is wound from the upper spool 2 to the lower spool 3 during the rendition of the music, passing over the tracker-board 4, which has a series of orifices 4 through which air is admitted when the corresponding perforations 1 of the sheet pass over them. Through these orifices the air acts, by means of suitable mechanism, upon the instrument, in any of a number of ways familiar to those skilled in the art of constructing self-playing musical instruments. When the playing of the piece of music has been completed, the sheet is re-wound onto the upper spool, for repetition, or for removal with its spool, to allow I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

Divided and this application filed February 12,

another sheet, for playing another piece of music, to be put in position, on another spool. It is commonly desired that this rewmd, and, where repeated playing of the same piece is desired, also the repetition, may be started automatically. It is with this accomplishment that my invention is primarily concerned, as will be made plain herein. Another very important requirement is that the sheet, during the playing of the music, shall pass over the tracker board at a constant speed, allowing the pre determined posit-ions of the perforations to have accurate control of the time of the music. My inventionis also concerned with this, in connection with the automatic starting and reversing of the travel of the sheet. The means for controlling the speed of travel of the sheet is more particularly described and claimed in my Patent No. 1,055,276, dated March at, 1913, of the application for which this application is a division. The means for ready removal and insertion of the spool with the sheet thereon, above alluded to, is more particularly described and claimed in another division of the above named application, Serial No. 747,892, filed February 12, 1913, as well as in the above original application, in which it is claimed broadly, as related to the feature of the invention primarily concerned therein. These features will be described briefly herein, to make clear the working of the entire mechanism.

As shown, the spools 2 and 3 are supported in a frame 5, which also supports the trackerboard. The lower spool 3 is simply mounted at one end on a yieldable bearing 3, allowing it to be inserted in the frame, and makes engagement at the other or driving end with a main arbor 6, journaled in the bearing 6 in a plate 7 that is fastened to the outside of the frame 5, said bearing projecting through the frame at this point. The upper spool 2 is mounted at one end on a yieldable bearing 2, and at its driving end on a re-winding arbor 8, likewise journaled in a bearing 8 in the plate 7, orojecting inside the frame 5. The upper driving-end mounting is different from the lower driving end mounting chiefly in that the upper one is adjustable so that the upper spool may be accurately alined with the lower spool. The lower and upper rear bearings are identical on the two spools. Both the main arbor 6 of the lower spool, and the re-winding arbor 8 of the upper spool, have slots 6 and 8", receiving corresponding projections on the spindles 8 and 2 of the lower and upper spools 3 and 2, respectively, causing the spools to turn with their respective arbors. In the upper driving-end mounting, to effect the alinement above alluded to, a pin 8 extends through a bore in the arbor 8, engaging to adjust the spool 2 axially.

F or driving the sheet on its downward travel, to play the music, the main arbor 6 has a spur-gear 9 fixed 011 it outside the bearing 6, and for re-Winding the sheet, the rewinding arbor 8 has a spur-gear 1O fixed on it outside the bearing 8. Collars 6 and 8, inside the bearings, prevent end play of the arbors 6 and 8, respectively.

The gear 10 of the re-winding arbor has a sheave 1O integral with it, by means of which it is secured to the arbor, and a shoe 10 bears on this sheave during the downward travel of the sheet, to prevent racing of the upper spool. A flat spring 6 bears on the gear 9, below, to similarly control the lower spool during re-winding. This fiat spring is allowed to bear constantly, but the shoe 10 above, is controlled so as to be released from engagement with the sheave 10 during rewinding, as will presently be explamed.

F or driving the mechanism, either in playing or re-winding, a disk 11 is mounted on a shaft 12 journaled transversely in the stationary bracket 13, which may be fixed on the structure of the instrument in which the mechanism is used, as may also the frame 5 that supports the. spools. A pulley let is fixed 011 the shaft 12, and a belt 15 passes therearound and around the pulley 16 of a motor. As shown, for sake of simplicity, this motor has another pulley 17 that drives suitable bellows 18 for exhausting air from a chest 19, through a pipe 20. This simple arrangement may represent any suitable pneumatic apparatus of a musical instrument, and is suflicicnt for illustrating the details of my invention, as they are to be described.

Mounted on the stationary bracket 13, on a longitudinal stud 13 fixed in the bracket, is a tiltable bracket 21, held on the stud 13 by a collar 13 This bracket has two main uprights 21 and 21 supporting the main friction wheel 22 at one side of the disk 11, and it has a third upright 21 which supports the rewinding friction w 1661 23 at the other side of the disk. The bracket, on tilting, with the stud 13 as a pivot, will bring one or the other of the friction-wheels 22 and 23 into engagement with the adjacent face of the disk. The main friction wheel 22 is journaled on a stud 22 fixed in the upright 21, but slides therealong. A shaft 22 extends into the hub of the main friction wheel 22, and the wheel may slide with respect to this shaft also, but must turn with this shaft. By these means, the friction Wheel 22 may engage with the face of the disk 11 throughout a considerable part of the radius of the disk, and the speed at which the friction wheel is rotated by the disk will vary according to the position of the engage ment. By shding the friction-wheel at a given speed along its bearings, the speed of the friction wheel may vary gradually, in exact proportion with its sliding.

A connecting shaft 24 has a universal joint 24 with the shaft 22 that drives the friction wheel 22, and has another universal joint 24: with a small spur pinion 25 that is adapted to mesh with the spur gear 9 of the lower spool mechanism. The mounting of this small pinion 25 will be described presently.

The re-Winding friction wheel 28, as best seen in Fig. 2, is simply mounted on a stud 23 in the third upright 21 turning loosely on the stud. No longitudinal movement of the re-winding wheel is needed, it being merely mounted near the periphery of the disk 11 to impart to the re-winding the high est speed the disk affords, since the re-winding is to be performed in as short time as is practicable, without concern as to the uniformity of speed of travel of the sheet upwardly. It will, of course, be understood that the music-producing mechanism is disconnected during the re-winding, as is well known to those skilled in the musical mechanism art.

A connecting shaft 26 has a universal joint 26 with the hub of the wheel 23, and has another universal joint 26 with a spur pinion 27 that is adapted to mesh with the spur gear 10 of the upper spool mechanism. This pinion 2'7, along with the before-mentioned pinion 25, is journaled in a slidab le bracket 28, best seen in Fig. 6. Each pinion is fixed on a short shaft 2" or 25 to which the universal joints as and 26 are fixed, respectively. This bracket 28 slides vertically in guides 28 on the plate 7, being held therein by screws 28 taking through slots in the bracket. When the bracket slides down, the pinion 25 meshes with the gear 9, to drive the lower spool; and when the bracket slides up, the pinion 27 meshes with the gear 10, to drive the upper or rc-winding spool. When either pinion meshes, the other unmeshes. As shown, the ratio between the lower gear and pinion is much greater than that between the upper gear and pinion. This provides the requisite slowness of playing travel of the sheet, and the needed s1 eed of re-winding travel, in addition to the provisions for the ratio of the main friction wheel and of the re-winding friction wheel, respectively, to the disk 11.

In meshing the gears and pinions, as just described, it is necessary to provide for the contingency of the teeth of a gear and pinion meeting end-on, and thus damaging the mechanism before they can slide into engagement as they should be, by the turning of the pinion. I provide for this by yieldingly engaging the bracket to move it. Thus, the extension 28 on one side of the slidable bracket has a lug 28 and a vertical slide 29 has a stirrup 29 that receives this lug and engages it with helical springs 29 and 29 above and below respectively. These springs yield enough to prevent damaging strain in the contingency above men tioned, but are firm enough to maintainthe gears and pinions in mesh for performing their work.

The shoe 10 bearing on the sheave 10 during the playing travel of the sheet,'is released during the re-winding, as before alluded to, by the engagement of a spur 28, fixed in the extension 28 of the slidable bracket and engaging with the under side of the shoe. The shoe is engaged with the sheave by the pull of a helical spring 10, attached to the under side of the shoe by one end, and to a lug on the stirrup 29 of the slide 29 by the other end.

lVhile, as above described, the meshing of the pinions 25 and 27 with their respective gears 9 and 10 is done by yieldable engagement, the tilting of the tiltable bracket 21, to engage either of the friction'wheels 22 and 23 with the disk 11 is, on the contrary, done by positive engagement, which, however, is made adjustable, so that exactly the right pressure of either friction-wheel may be maintained against the disk. This is accomplished by a cross'slide 30, with a stirrup 30, at the-sides of the opening of which are lugs 30 and 30", in which are set-screws 30 and 30 pointing toward each other across the opening. An upright arm 21 forms part of the tiltable bracket 21, near the periphery of the disk 11, and it has a lug 21 that extends into the opening of the stirrup 30 of the cross-slide 30, to be engaged by one or the other of the set-screws 30 and 30 accordingly as the frictionwheel 22 or the friction-wheel 23 is to be engaged with the disk. A slight amount of lost motion will thus be involved, but the important requirement is that these set screws be so adjusted at all times as to provide the required frictional engagement to impart the exact speed of any part of the face of the disk to the periphery of the friction-wheel; and such adjustment will also enable the slight wear of the friction wheels to be compensated. These friction wheels may have their peripheries composed of suitable fiber composition, well known in the art of friction transmission.

For shifting the slidable bracket 28 and tilting the tiltable bracket 21 simultaneously, theii respective slides 29 and 30 are provided with slidable cams 31 and 32, respectively, connected by a strut 33, so that the two cams move as a unit. Swivel studs 31 and 32, respectively, are provided on the cams to receive the strut for proper adjustment, it being held in the studs by setscrews.

The slidable cam 31 for shifting the slidable bracket 28 is mounted in a guide-block 31*, which is attached to the plate 7 on the side of the frame 5, by means of a cleat 31 This guide-block has a cross-slot in which the vertical slide 29 is accurately guided, the guide-block being mounted with its crossslot vertical to receive the vertical slide. This vertical slide has a detent 29 that receives an inclined reduced part of the slidable cam 31. This inclined reduced part joins the main part of the cam at each end of said reduced part by a straight part. Either one or the other of said straight parts occupies the detent 29 to hold the vertical slide up or down, as the case may be, and the passage of the inclined part through the detent raises or lowers the vertical slide, thus converting the motion of the slidable cam into motion of the vertical slide, at right-angles to the motion of the slidable cam.

The sides of the detent 29 are, in their major part, conformed to the straight parts of the cam, to provide for ample locking engagement with said straight parts. Minor 100 parts of said sides, however, are inclined to conform to the inclined part of the cam, thus receiving the wear incident to the shifting. The straight parts of the cam are as long as the vertical slide is in thickness, so that 105 there is some lost motion until the inclined parts engage. These details are readily seen in Fig. 7 A cover plate 31 is secured to the guide-block 31*, over the cam and the vertical slide, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2.

The slidable cam 32 is identical in its construction and mounting with the cam 31, except that the guide-block 32 somewhat modified, is mounted horizontally, on the stationary bracket 13, over the bearing of the 115 shaft 12. The cross-slide 30 is accurately guided in the cross-slot of the guide-block 32 and has a detent 30 receiving the reduced part of the cam, and acted upon by said cam as has been described in connection 120 with the vertical slide 29. The inclined parts of the two cams 31 and 32 are, as shown, oppositely directed, to efiect the proper simultaneous operation of the vertical slide and the cross-slide, respectively. 125

It is highly desirable that the shifting of the mechanisms from playing to re-winding operation and vice versa be effected automatically, in strict accordance with the conditions imposed by the particular sheet be- 130 ing carried. This is best effected by utilizing a pneumatically controlled device, actuated in each instance by the presence of a slot over an orifice in the tracker board. I carry this out by mounting on one of the cams, in this instance the cam 32, a pair of bellows 34 and 35, with their expansible ends facing each other, and pivoting a pair of pawls 34 and 35, respectively, on said cam, to be actuated by the respective bellows into and out of engagement with a stud 36 on a constantly reciprocatingbar 37, as is best shown in Fig. 4. These bellows and pawls are mounted on the lower side of the cam 31, which is extended for the purpose, the pivots of the pawls being at the inexpansible ends of the respective bellows and be ing heavy enough and rigidly enough secured to the cam to withstand the somewhat heavy impact from the stud and thus transmit it to the shifting mechanism. The engaging ends of the pawls are somewhat concave to counteract any tendency of the pawls to slip away from the stud, but the lower edges of said pawls are inclined upwardly from these engaging ends toward the pivots, so that when the pawl comes down, 011 expansion of its bellows, and engages this lower edge with the stud 36, no operative engagement will occur here. In such event, the pawl is raised until the stud has reciprocated from under it, and then falls again to have its end engaged by the stud as it returns on its next reciprocation. Each bellows has two openings to its interior, 34 and 34, and 35 and 35", respectively. Tubes 34 and 35 lead from the openings 34 and 35 to the chest 19, in which vacuum is maintained by the bellows 18, before described; and tubes 34 and 35 lead from the openings 34 and 35 to orifices 34 and 35 in the tracker board. The sheet 1 has a perforation 34, which is shown in the drawing as being over the orifice 34. It will be understood that the sheet 1 shall have another perforation, near the other end of the sheet, which is understood as being wound upon the upper spool 2 as shown in the drawing, and that this other perforation is near the other side of the sheet, to come over the other orifice 35 when playing of the piece of music has been completed. As shown, the rewinding has just been completed, and the mechanisms have been shifted to begin the playing operation of the sheet. This device operates by the cessation of the vacuum which was maintained throughout the tube from the vacuum chest, the respective bellows on the cam, and the tube from there to the tracker board, this cessation occurring as soon as the perforation in the sheet comes over the orifice, admitting atmospheric air to the above described spaces, which air has been excluded as long as the imperforate part of the sheet ran over the orifice. The rush of air into the spaces, destroying the vacuum, allows the pawl attached to the bellows to fall, or to be forced down by the flat spring 34 or 35, inside the bellows 34 or 35, as the case may be. Then, the stud 36 engaging with the pawl that has come down, the mechanism will be shifted at once, after which, the perforation leaving the orifice and the imperforate parts of the moving sheet clos ing the orifice again against atmospheric pressure, the air will again be exhausted from the spaces, the bellows will again collapse, and the pawl will be raised again. Each pawl has a lug 34 or 35 adjacent its pivot, to limit the drop of the pawl. It will be seen that all of the strain is confined to the pawls, and the bellows need only perform the duty of controlling the positions of the pawls. The springs 34 and 35 may be dispensed with where the pawls are heavy in comparison to the eflicacy of the vacuum maintained; thus, the pawls may drop of their own weight, and the effect of the vacuum need be only to overcome said weight.

The bar 37 is recip-rocated by a pitman 38 on a wristpin 39 in the pulley 14, said pitman being also connected to a block 40 rigid on the bar 37 between the two bearings 37 and 37 of the bar, in the stationary bracket 5 13 and in the guide-block 32 The stroke of this bar 37 is such that it equals the re quired movement of the cams 31 and 32, plus the distance between the engaging ends of the pawls 34 and 35 minus the diameter of 100 the stud 36. Thus, when the stud has pushed the cam to the limit of its stroke in either direction it cannot act further in that direction, and the pawl may be raised at leisure, during the return travel of the sheet, either 105 playing or re-winding. In actual practice, but a small fraction of the time thus allowed is required for the vacuum to be reestablished and the pawl returned to its raised position.

The outer end of the extension of the cam 32 is supported from the strut 33 by a brace 33, the head 33 of which may slide on the strut to allow adjustment of the strut as before mentioned.

The compensating mechanism, being shown to complete the illustration of the mechanism in which my invention above described is involved, will now be briefly described.

The friction wheel 22, before described, has annular flanges 22 on its hub, and a key 22 fits between the flanges. This key is carried in a head 22 mounted on a' slide-rod 22 slidable longitudinally in brackets on 125 the tiltable bracket 21.

The main arbor 6, of the lower spool 3, is extended forwardly and j ournaled in an arm of the bracket 41, mounted on the lower part of the frame 5. This arbor 6 has a worm 42 130 fixed on it, and this worm meshes with a worm-wheel 43, fixed on a shaft 44 j ournaled transversely in the bracket 41. On the end of this shaft 44:, journaled transversely in the bracket 41, is fixed a spiral cam 45, having a spiral groove 45 cut in its face. Another extension of the bracket 41 carries a pivot for a bell-crank lever 46, one arm of which extends across the spirally grooved face of the cam 45 and has a stud 46* entering the spiral groove. The other arm of this lever extends up and connects, by a suitable pitman arrangement 47, to the sliderod 22 that carries the head 22, thus moving the main friction wheel 22. The pit- ,man arrangement 47 is made adjustable, as illustrated, so that the region of movement, as well as the degree of movement, of the friction-wheel 22, under the action of the spiral cam 45, may be regulated. Thus, variations to secure differences in speed of travel of the sheet during playing may be made, but the constant speed of the sheet will be maintained at any adjustment.

While I have shown and described certain specific examples of my invention, I do not wish to be understood as being limited precisely thereto, but

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In winding mechanism, in combination with a perforated sheet, a tracker board over which the sheet passes, driving means for said sheet comprising alternately engageable driving members, to drive the sheet in one direction or the other, shifting means to alternately cause engagement of said members, means whereby said shifting means is actuated by said driving means and pneumatically operated apparatus controlled by said sheet and said tracker board and controlling the means whereby said shifting means is actuated.

, 2. In winding mechanism, in combination with a perforated sheet, a tracker board over which the sheet passes, driving means for said sheet comprising alternately engageable driving members, to drive the sheet in one direction or the other, shifting means to alternately cause engagement of said members, means reciprocated by said driving means to shift said shifting means, and pneumatically operated apparatus controlled by said sheet and said tracker board and controlling the operation of said reciprocating means and said shifting means.

3. In winding mechanism, in combination with a perforated sheet, a tracker board over which the sheet passes, driving means for said sheet comprising alternately engageable driving members, to drive said sheet in one direction or the other, a slidable cam and means whereby said cam alternately causes engagement of said driving members when it slides, an extension to said cam, bellows on said extension with adjacent expansible ends, pawls pivoted on said extension and attached to said bellows, to be moved when said bellows expand and collapse, each bellows and its pawl acting independently, a bar slidably mounted, connection from said bar to said driving means whereby the bar is reciprocatecl, engaging means on the bar engageable with either one of said pawls when the bellows of the pawl is expanded, vacuum-producing means, connection therefrom to the interior of each bellows, said tracker-board having orifices and said sheet having perforations adapted to pass over said orifices, and connection from the interior of each bellows to a respective orifice of said tracker board, said vacuum-producing means acting on the respective bellows to collapse them when said perforations are not over the respective orifices, and said pawls being out of position for engagement of said means on the reciprocating bar, when said bellows, respectively, are collapsed.

FREDERICK W. HEMPELMANN. Witnesses:

E. C. SAUNDERS, F. H. CARTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, Washington, D. G.

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 

